Welcome to an adventure in practical civics

AB274, national popular vote — NO, NO, NO

Nothing illustrates more clearly how badly californicated we’ve become than this bill. You’d think that everyone regardless of political affiliation in a State with such a small population would bristle at the notion of being deprived of having a say in the election of the next President, a say that is guaranteed to us by the Constitution and its provision for the Electoral College.

This bill is a proposal to disenfranchise YOU, because and only because you live in a small State. This proposal tells Navada’s voters, YOU don’t count. YOUR vote doesn’t count. It does not matter how YOU voted. It does not matter how anyone in fly-over country voted. What matters, the ONLY thing that matters, is how the coastal masses had voted.

So, to hell with the Constitution, to hell with the Electoral College as a safeguard against the tyranny of the majority. To hell with the founding idea that we are a union of 50 “sovereign” “States;” they are just an inconvenient archaic geopolitical subdivision, appendages subservient to the federal government.

What despicable arrogance, to propose something like this.

by the NV Republican Party

As we discussed at the NRCC Spring Meeting this weekend, we need people to attend the hearing on Assembly Bill 274 tomorrow in either Carson City or Las Vegas to oppose the National Popular Vote Compact.

The NRCC resolution opposing this bill passed unanimously, and it’s important that we support this resolution by attending the hearing. If you’d like to testify to let the committee know the reasons you oppose the Compact, that is the most powerful way that you can influence the process. It’s important to demonstrate how many people are opposed to this bill – even if you do nothing more than go to the microphone during opposing testimony and state your name and that you agree with the others who have spoken, you’ll make a difference.

The National Popular Vote Compact makes no sense, especially in Nevada, for the following reasons:

Nevada is currently a battleground state. Our voice is heard loud and clear in the Presidential nominating process because we are the First in the West. NPV makes all smaller states irrelevant, but Nevadans would be particularly hurt by this scheme.

This is not a partisan issue – NPV mandates that Nevada will go along with the herd, regardless of how our citizens vote. That could result in a majority of Nevada’s citizens being disenfranchised by having their votes thrown away, and those citizens could be Democrats, Republicans or non-partisan voters, depending on the particular national election results in a given year.

NPV violates the US Constitution by forcing electors to vote for Presidential candidates selected by other states.

NPV seeks to make an end run around the Constitution by eliminating the Electoral College in practice, if not in fact. If proponents want to eliminate the Electoral College devised by the founders to protect the rights of all states, both large and small, they should follow the rules and propose an amendment to be approved by ¾ of the states.

The National Popular Vote Compact Violates the Compact Clause of the U.S. Constitution in Article I Section 10 Clause 3, “No State shall, without the Consent of Congress…enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State…”

by fishingrampa

NO HELL NO. AB274 eliminates the original intent of the electoral college and puts the election of our President to a composite vote of the overall national vote while ignoring the vote with in each state.

by simi4relo

AB274 – HELL NO. This is part of a national movement to dismantle the Electoral College, which would virtually render NV irrelevant forevermore. The Electoral College was created by our Framers to prevent large population states from ruling each and every national election. If this had been in effect, we would be looking at a Hillary Clinton Presidency, as she did, in fact, win the popular vote.

The only states that would have candidates visit are NY, CA and IL. Do you know how many times the candidates cris-crossed the country and always stopped here in NV? I liked having the candidates personally visit so I could make an informed decision on election day.

That would all stop if AB274 in our state (and other bills in other states) were enacted.
by carter4nvdoe

I like AB274. Then everyone can ignore Nevada! And just concentrate on three or four states (New York, California, Illinois, and one or two others that lean their way politically) (snark) (but the idiots don’t understand that). I hope you see the sarcasm.
by truthseeker4freedomsubmitted as testimony
(full text will be found on https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/79th2017/Bill/5182/Exhibits)

A state’s Electoral votes are based on the same formula used for Congress where each state receives two electoral votes for their U.S. Senators plus one electoral vote for each of their Congressmen. So Nevada has six Electors.

The Electoral College established the wisdom of our founders and provides for checks and balances ensuring that all states, therefore all citizens, have a say in who their President will be. Without our founder’s wisdom of the elector process, we Nevadans will not get a second look. We will simply be a “flyover state” and only the most populated states will matter.

The Nevada Republican Assembly Convention last weekend voted unanimously to OPPOSE AB274 for all of the above reasons and many more.

Continue the wisdom of our forefathers; make Nevada matter and OPPOSE AB274! Uphold the Constitution!

by truejoy

Absolutely NOT. I oppose AB274 which requires a national popular vote to elect the President of the United States. This would mean the mass population of the states on the East coast and the WEST coast would decide who would be President of the United States. Nevada and the less populated states would never have a say in the election. This is an outrageous idea and should never be considered.

by janine

National Popular Vote would make Nevada a meaningless flyover state for Presidential elections. Large populations would decide the election. The National Popular Vote violates the Constitution which requires Congress to authorize state Compacts and circumvents the Electoral College.

Excerpts from the article, The National Popular Vote Compact is an End Run around the U.S. Constitution Circumventing Electoral College and Stealing Votes, by Janine Hansen, National Constitutional Issues Chairman Eagle Forum:

The National Popular Vote Compact Violates the Compact Clause of the U.S. Constitution in Article I Section 10 Clause 3, “No State shall, without the Consent of Congress…enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State…”

If a state signs onto the NPV Compact, and a majority of their voters do not vote for the nationally declared “popular vote majority” candidate, their Electoral Votes are stolen, and added to the declared “popular vote majority” candidate.

NPV eliminates the geographic balance provided by the Electoral College which makes all regions of the country, states both small and large, liberal or conservative important in the Presidential election.

The NPV Compact states, that once States with electoral votes equaling 270 enact the Compact, it will become the law without ever passing Congress and without being sent to the states for ratification as required to amend the U.S. Constitution. The National Popular Vote Compact is an end run around the Constitution.

according to NPV Compact they are 60% of the way to their goal or just 105 electoral votes short from putting the Compact into effect.

Questions by peter5427:

If the NPV is an unconstitutional compact, how would it go into effect? Do we expect the Supreme Court to approve it? How is Congress responding to this obvious assault on their constitutional prerogative?

US Constitution, Article 1, Section 10: No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, … , enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power…

US Constitution, Article 2, Section 1: Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress

It seems to me that each State can pass this NPV independently of the others, and without calling it a “compact” nevertheless instruct their Electors to act accordingly when the Electoral College meets to select the next President. Then it’s up to us poor suckers to prove an unconstitutional collusion between each of them. Say goodbye to the country and to our Constitution, folks…!!!

WELL,…. if you are a certain kind of “American,” then “fairness” is “heads I win, tails you lose.”
But seriously, it’s the fundamental refusal to understand that the Founders gave us a constitutional republic, not an absolute democracy. Their idea is to protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority; in this case the populations of small states from the populations of the large states. The game is still rigged in favor of the large states because their representation in the House is still based on population, and it is partially offset by the equal representation of the states in the Senate. But once in a while the small states do manage to band together…